Marble League Showdown
The Marble League Showdown is a secondary competition to the main tournament of the Marble League, akin to a "B-League." It was introduced to the series in 2019 and features twelve teams competing in four of the events featured in the proper Marble League. History Requests for a "B-League" to the Marble League were present since 2017, but became more prominent in early 2019, after the release of the Marble League 2019 Qualifiers. Many fans were disappointed that the Limers and Team Momo had failed to qualify for the first time in ML history, while the Rojo Rollers and Kobalts, teams that had only appeared in Marble League 2016, had failed to qualify for the third year in a row. As u/MarbleMaestro put it on Reddit, "A ML B League would definitely make the competition more interesting. It would also give fan favorite teams that don't do so well a second chance. Perhaps the winner could be prequalified for the next season. Some of you may disagree and say that the prestigiousness of the competition makes it unique, but disappointed fans like myself don't have a lot to look forward to unless they choose a different team like I am this season. I'm not the only one upset that my team didn't qualify, and this isn't the only reason I'm suggesting this." Nearly a month later, on 22 February 2019, plans for the "B-League" were revealed, revealing that the competition would have twelve teams competing in four events. These teams would include the eight unqualified teams, the top two teams from Hubelino Tournament 2018, and two fan-made teams that would be elected by the fans in a vote run by the JMRC. The top eight teams at the end of the B-League would participate in the next ML Qualifiers, with the four remaining teams' status yet to be determined. The "B-League" was officially renamed to Marble League Showdown on 26 February to better distinguish it from the Marble Rally B-League. Fan Team Contest 2019 The Fan Team Contest, introduced in 2019, allowed fans to submit a team for election to compete in the Marble League Showdown. The rules for submission included: * You may only submit one team for this contest. * Your team must consist of at least 5 equally looking marbles (4 regular athletes, 1 reserve). 7 marbles are the maximum (4 regulars, 2 reserve and 1 coach). * Your team marbles must have a unique look. It must be distinguishable from every other team competing in the Marble League and the B-League including the two Hubelino teams Minty Maniacs and Bumblebees. You can find their designs in our Marble League Wikia. * Your team marbles must meet the ML size standard of 16mm and they have to be made of glass. * You must not alter your team marbles in any way. Any unnatural advantage over other teams will result in a permanent disqualification from ALL events on JMR. * While you don't have to physically possess the marbles to enter the vote, you must ensure that you can either send the marbles in time or that we can order them, should you win the vote. Use common sense here: If you are going to order your marbles from a European store, it doesn't make any sense to send them to the USA first and back to the Netherlands afterward. * Your team must have a unique name, a logo concept, names for all members and a short history about its origins. Remember, these teams are none of the classics and you have to impress the community to get those sweet votes during the voting period. * Please note that winning the vote will qualify for the B-League only. No fan team is guaranteed to actually reach the Marble League Main Tournament. While we will certainly not interfere with your team's performance any way, please keep in mind anything could happen. The contest ran from 26 February to 22 March. After two rounds of voting, the Hornets and Turtle Sliders were selected as the two fan-made teams that would compete in the Marble League Showdown. Marble League Qualification The top 8 teams at the end of each Showdown move on to the next Marble League Qualifiers. The bottom 4 teams remain in the Showdown for the following year's edition, where they have a chance to compete for one of the top 8 spots again. Teams (2019) The twelve teams competing in the MS2019 are: Trivia * MS2019 will see the Minty Maniacs return to a ML-related competition after previously withdrawing from participation in ML2019 Qualifiers. They will make history as the first team to do this, that is, to come out of "retirement". References Category:Marble League Category:Marble League Showdown Category:Tournaments